October 29, 2007

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Exclusive: Fred Thompson on the U.N.

My Fellow Americans:

I will be brief. Yesterday, I was contacted by a Mr. Paul Jon Henke, who handles "new media" relations for Fred Thompson, the tallest Republican presidential candidate who is also an actor. Mr. Henke has sent us the following statement, which the Gun Nut is running as a public service. The statement is about the U.N.'s position on the individual ownership of guns:

Last year, the United Nations Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights declared that international human rights law requires all nations to adopt strict gun control laws. These “minimum” provisions are much more restrictive than any of those on the books anywhere in the U.S. and would almost certainly violate the Second Amendment of our Constitution.

Besides concluding that all nations are obligated under international human rights law to control the small arms and light weapons to which its civilian population has access, the UN report remarkably denied the existence of any human right to self-defense, evidently overlooking the work of Hugo Grotius, the 17th century scholar credited as the founder of international law, who wrote, “It is to be observed that [the] Right of Self-Defence, arises directly and immediately from the Care of our own Preservation, which Nature recommends to every one. . . ,” and that this right is so primary, that it cannot be denied on the basis that it is not “expressly set forth.”

There is another disturbing aspect to this call for international global gun control. Throughout modern history, the forced disarmament of people by its government has often been accompanied or followed by that government’s commission of often massive human rights abuses. In fact, no genocide in the 20th century occurred when the victim population still possessed small arms, legally or illegally, with which to defend themselves.

So now the UN wants to disarm civilians? Where was the UN when the massacres in Rwanda occurred? What did the UN do to protect the victims of ethnic massacres in Bosnia? Disarming civilians under the guise of international human rights law will only lead to more such genocides by ensuring that civilians can never defend themselves! It would be funny if it weren’t so perverse.

Thankfully, the Framers of our Constitution recognized this potential peril to our liberty, and enshrined in our Second Amendment the more basic right of self-defense. The U.N. can say what it likes about other countries’ citizens’ possession of small arms being a violation of human rights law, but so long as the United States is a sovereign nation governed by its Constitution, its words will have no effect here. And I am glad for it.

My own feeling is that the U.N. would screw up the recipe for ice water. The U.N. could not break up a fight between a couple of girl scouts. The U.N. building would make an excellent high-rise apartment site. But I’m not running for president, Mr. Thompson is. Your thoughts, please.

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Comments

To answer Matt, I agree with you that the UN is generally incompetent. It does serve one purpose, however, depending upon your personal political stance; it provides political cover. Do you remember Bill Clinton and the Bosnia war? Do you remember American troops wearing blue helmets and taking orders from foreigners? Once Hillary is safely elected, she won't have to fuss with congress, or even the courts. She can cite last year's UN sub-commision on human rights' conclusions, let out a little sigh, and say, "Much as it may anger some, if America wants to take its place in the greater international community, America has to abide by international laws." So while she is turning our military into a disaster relief organization, redistributing our wealth overseas, and throttling back our energy consumption to the levels of Nigeria, she can also disarm us. This is the short version, but you get the idea.

Hey, the Congress ratified the UN's charter. And we virtually bankroll the whole thing. Political cover worked for Bill... can you imagine a draft dodger ordering troops to shine their boots, let alone sending them off to risk their lives in a war? Yet by hiding behind the UN, he did just that. It worked for Bill; it'll work for Hillary.

It's about time to ban the UN from anything, order all of our politicians to leave their posts; immediately, deal with peta in the most inhumane ways we can find, make all anti-gun folks anti-life, bomb the middle-east, china, russia and france into submission, and tell anyone who disagrees with us - well tell them nothing - they will be gone and dealt with.

Russ
Thanks for the heads up! I've seen him on TV in the debates and liked what I hheard but I didn't know much about him. It seems like a lot more people have been watching the Rep debates on Fox than the Dem debates wherever. Unfortunately, it seems to me that guys like Duncan Hunter get one question while Rudy & McCain get five. Sad to say, that's the best news outlet that we have.
Thanks again
Jack

I think if our public officials(congressmen,senators, judges,govenors, etc) were all limited to a two year, serve once in your lifetime for $30,000.00 per year with no pension; Term in office that this would cure so very much of the political corruption that goes on in this country that it would be well worth the trouble to get it made into law.

Everyone
I was under the impression that John McCain refused to address the NRA Convention. I do admire him greatly but also am queasy about his views on some of the issues. I'm very concerned about this U.N. issue and the Supreme Court and for those reasons I will vote for the any Republican over the best Democrat.
Thanks again for the links
Jack

To get a true picture of how disgusting the UN is - they ordered the Colonel who could have stopped the genocide in Rwanda to just sit idly by. My God, what a revolting set of people run that organization...

McCain and the NRA parted company in 2001 over McCain's support of campaign finance reform, which would have had the effect of curtailing the NRA's ability to support pro-gun candidates with public appeals close to election time.

Wasn't deliberately aimed at the NRA, but, let's face it, our beloved NRA (I'm a Life Member since '62) is a "special interest." OUR special interest, I know, but McCain tends to think in terms of the big picture, and he was justifiably concerned that 'special interest' money (especially from labor) was distorting election outcomes.

Despite McCain's strong support of gun rights in the Senate (including gun rights in D.C.), it doesn't appear that he and the NRA have ever made up.

New York - WABC, October 23, 2007) - Last week, The Investigators went undercover to expose a gaping loophole in New York state's gun laws. Now Governor Eliot Spitzer is promising to examine the problem more closely.
The Investigators Jim Hoffer has the story.

The black powder rifle's exemption from gun laws is one of the last remaining major gun loopholes in the state of New York. But the days of buying this deadly weapon no questions asked may be numbered.

Our undercover investigation showed with alarming clarity just how easy it is to get a black powder rifle in New York.

Be it in a department store or on the Internet, the highly powerful .50 caliber weapon can be purchased without any identification, permit or background check.

That's because the black powder gun is muzzle loaded and therefore classified as antique -- and state and federal gun laws do not include antique firearms.

We took the issue to the governor, the one most able to do something about it.

Jim Hoffer: "What if anything can you do as governor to try to close this black powder gun loophole?"
Governor Spitzer: "We have a number of loophole closing gun-related bills that have been proposed. None of which has moved yet through the legislature, but I will look to see if they cover this particular situation."
Hoffer: "And if they don't will you move on that do you think?"
Spitzer: "Sure, it's obviously something that bears examination."

Twice in the last four months, the deadly black-powder gun made news. First, a student with a history of psychological problems carried one loaded onto the St. John's University campus. And in June, a convicted rapist with the same kind of gun shot and nearly killed a state police trooper.

"These guns can kill and they should be subject to the same restrictions that other guns are subject to," said Michael Gianaris (D-Queens).

The Queens state lawmaker says after seeing our investigation he'll be introducing legislation to close the loophole that exempts these so-called antique weapons from gun laws.

"Clearly this gun has already done harm to a state trooper, it almost caused a tragedy at St. John's and we have to act quickly to keep them out of the hands of people who shouldn't be holding guns," Gianaris said.

For Blue Ox:
Here is Fred Thompson's official plan for those Martians trolling your lawn:

BORDER SECURITY AND IMMIGRATION REFORM PLAN
Fred Thompson:

In the post-9/11 world, immigration is much more of a national security issue. A government that cannot secure its borders and determine who may enter and who may not, fails in a fundamental responsibility. As we take steps to secure our borders and enforce our laws, we must also ensure that our immigration laws and policies advance our national interests in a variety of areas, and that the immigration process itself is as fair, efficient, and effective as possible.

Securing the Border and Enforcing the Law

A fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to secure the nation's borders and enforce the law. The following policies and initiatives will put the nation on a path to success:

1. No Amnesty. Do not provide legal status to illegal aliens. Amnesty undermines U.S. law and policy, rewards bad behavior, and is unfair to the millions of immigrants who follow the law and are awaiting legal entry into the United States. In some cases, those law-abiding and aspiring immigrants have been waiting for several years.

2. Attrition through Enforcement. Reduce the number of illegal aliens through increased enforcement against unauthorized alien workers and their employers. Without illegal employment opportunities available, fewer illegal aliens will attempt to enter the country, and many of those illegally in the country now likely will return home. Self-deportation can also be maximized by stepping up the enforcement levels of other existing immigration laws. This course of action offers a reasonable alternative to the false choices currently proposed to deal with the 12 million or more aliens already in the U.S. illegally: either arrest and deport them all, or give them all amnesty. Attrition through enforcement is a more reasonable and achievable solution, but this approach requires additional resources for enforcement and border security:

1. Doubling ICE agents handling interior enforcement, increasing the Border Patrol to at least 25,000 agents, and increasing detention space to incarcerate illegal aliens we arrest rather than letting them go with a promise to show up later for legal proceedings against them.

2. Adding resources for the Department of Justice to prosecute alien smugglers, people involved in trafficking in false identification documents, and previously deported felons.

3. Maximizing efforts to prosecute and convict members of criminal alien gangs, such as MS-13 and affiliated gangs. These gangs have brought unusual levels of violence to more than 30 U.S. states and have also become very active in drug-smuggling, gun-smuggling, and alien-smuggling.

4. Implementing fully and making greater use of the expedited removal process already allowed under federal law.

5. Enabling the Social Security Administration to share relevant information with immigration and law enforcement personnel in a manner that will support effective interior enforcement efforts.

3. Enforce Existing Federal Laws. Enforce the laws Congress has already enacted to prevent illegal aliens from unlawfully benefiting from their presence in the country:

1. End Sanctuary Cities by cutting off discretionary federal grant funds as appropriate to any community that, by law, ordinance, executive order, or other formal policy directs its public officials not to comply with the provisions of 8 USC 1373 and 8 USC 1644, which prohibit any state or local government from restricting in any way communications with the Department of Homeland Security regarding the immigration status, lawful or unlawful, of an alien in the United States.

2. Deny discretionary Federal education grants as appropriate to public universities that violate federal law by offering in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens without also offering identical benefits to United States citizens, regardless of whether or not they live in the state, as required by 8 USC 1623.

3. Deny discretionary Federal grants as appropriate to states and local governments that violate federal law by offering public benefits to illegal aliens, as prohibited by 8 USC 1621(a).

4. Reduce the Jobs Incentive. Ensure employee verification by requiring that all U.S. employers use the Department of Homeland Security's electronic database (the E-Verify system) to confirm that a prospective employee is authorized to work in the U.S. Now that the technology is proven, provide sufficient resources to make the system as thorough, fast, accurate, and easy-to-use as possible.

5. Bolster Border Security. Finish building the 854-mile wall along the border by 2010 as required by 8 USC 1103. Extend the wall beyond that as appropriate and deploy new technologies and additional resources to enhance detection and rapid apprehension along our borders by 2012.

7. Rigorous Entry/Exit Tracking. Complete the implementation of a system to track visa entrants and exits, as has been required by federal law for more than ten years, and connect it to the FBI's National Crime Information Center (NCIC), in order to curb visa overstays and permit more effective enforcement.

Improving the Legal Immigration Process
The United States is a nation of immigrants. We must continue to welcome immigrants and foreign workers who come to our country legally, giving priority to those who can advance the nation's interests and common good. Immigrants and foreign workers who play by the rules need to be rewarded with faster and less burdensome service, not delays that last years. Advancing the following initiatives will require close cooperation between all levels of government, the business community, and concerned citizens:

1. Maximize Program Efficiency. Reduce the backlogs and streamline the process for immigrants and employers who seek to follow the law. Also, simplify and expedite the application processes for temporary visas. This can be accomplished by hiring more personnel at Citizenship and Immigration Services and the FBI. Caps for any category of temporary work visa would be increased as appropriate, if it could be demonstrated that there are no Americans capable and willing to do the jobs.

2. Enhanced Reporting. Improve reporting to the government by businesses that rely on temporary workers so that the government can track whether the visa holder remains employed.

3. Modernize Immigration Law/Policy. Change the nature of our legal immigration system to welcome immigrants who can be economic contributors to our country, are willing to learn the English language, and want to assimilate.

1. Reduce the scope of chain migration by giving family preference in the allocation of lawful permanent resident status only to spouses and minor children of U.S. citizens, and no one else (no siblings, no parents, no adult children, etc.).

2. Eliminate the diversity visa lottery.

4. English As Official Language. Make English the official language of the United States to promote assimilation and legal immigrants' success, and require English proficiency in order for any foreign person to be granted lawful permanent resident status.

5. Freedom from Political Oppression. Preserve U.S. laws and policies to ensure that the United States remains a beacon and a haven for persons fleeing political oppression, while assuring appropriate admission standards are maintained.

6. Service to Country. Place those foreign persons who are lawfully present in the country and who serve honorably in the Armed Forces of the United States on a faster, surer track to U.S. citizenship.

Ron Paul is also running for president. He was in the U.S. Air Force in the '60s and served as a flight surgeon. He is an obstetrician and has delivered over 4,000 babies. He will defend the Constitution better than anyone I am familiar with. He also is hated by the press, the powers that be, and other politicians... I am afraid he has so many enemies in Washington, LA, and NY that his chances are slim but he is the true patriot in this election. Fred is probably more electable and lives in my city but Dr. Paul is my hero.